Veterans Memorial Park in Olathe, Kansas
is a lovely four acre park which memorializes the men and women who served
the United States in the armed services. Unfortunately, it was placed in
a location where there is no nearby foot traffic. Other than the memorials,
there is no reason for someone to drive to this location. If it was near
the downtown, I believe there would be people using the park each lunch
hour.

I have driven past the Olathe Veterans Memorial Park dozens
of times, but never seen anyone in the park. When I pulled into the parking
lot to take these photographs, the parking lot was half full, but there
was no one in the park. I think the employees of nearby businesses use
the lot.

The park has a brick walk in honor of lost submarines
and memorial plaques on many of the trees, but I particularly like the
many memorial park benches.

The neatest individual memorial may be the Four Chaplains
Memorial, which was dedicated to 4 chaplains from the American troop transport
ship, Dorchester. The Dorchester sank near Greenland in WW2. As it sank,
the chaplains brought order, directing the soldiers and loading them into
life rafts. When life jackets were gone, they removed their own life jackets
and placed them on other men. The four men (one Jewish, one Catholic, and
two Protestant) went down with the ship.

Memorial to all who have served in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines
or Coast Guard.

Memorial to Lt. Stanley T. Adams - a Korean War hero who was awarded
the Congressional Medal of Honor for leading a
night bayonet charge against a Red Army force that outnumbered his
platoon 20 to 1